Concern expressed in The Hague (see Saturday edition) about St. Maarten’s apparent reluctance to adopt legislation required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) seems justified. The deadline for such – originally set at March 1 and already extended until the end of that month – was missed and there are no indications when it will take place.
While there is a Parliament meeting today, Monday, and several others have been tentatively planned for the remainder of the week, this matter is not – yet – on the agenda of any. That fact alone raises questions at this point.
The Caribbean FATF had paid a working visit since September 2018 and made binding recommendations. But when the resulting law changes were tabled in the Central Committee last February several members on both sides of the aisle expressed reservations over monetary transactions in the country becoming more cumbersome and the additional power the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) would supposedly get.
Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin in the April 18 newspaper reiterated that her government was indeed making the necessary legal adjustments to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. However, the plenary session of Parliament to approve the package called on April 23 could not proceed for lack of a quorum, despite an editorial published in this column that day under the heading “Not an option” pointing out the risk of continued non-compliance.
The country’s elected representatives need to understand this is not just a local but rather a global issue and it’s increasingly important to maintain recognition as a legitimate part of the international community in that sense, also from an investment climate perspective. Simply waiting to be blacklisted would not only be counterproductive, but potentially harmful to the tourism economy.
